Argumentative Essay: Federal Legalization Of Marijuana

Cavan Spry

Professor Winchel

ENG-106

11/15/17

Federal Legalization of Marijuana Nearly five decades since Richard Nixon declared a war on drugs and over one trillion dollars spent fighting this war, there is no resolve. We continue to fail at the fight and waste enormous amounts of taxpayer money annually. So why does the United States continue on this war path rather than evaluate the situation and seek a better solution? It has been verified that marijuana is a much safer alternative to alcohol or tobacco and has decreased the amount of opioid-related deaths in legal states. Along with the countless medical benefits that could assist people with certain disorders, many states are missing out on massive tax revenues and the new jobs a regulated

The government isn’t just spending too much on the war on drugs, they could instead be making billions in tax revenue from the marijuana trade. There will always be money to be made from marijuana, but the government needs to decide if the money will go into their pockets, along with legitimate business owners, or into the pocket of drug dealers. When regulated and taxed correctly, marijuana legalization can produce remarkable economic benefits for a state. As proven by marijuana trade revenue in legal states, “In 2015, the legal marijuana industry in Colorado created more than 18,000 new full-time jobs and generated $2.4 billion in economic activity” (Ingraham). The fact of the matter is that the jobs and economic activity related to marijuana continue to persist in the unregulated states, however it goes unrecorded and untaxed, because after all it is illegal. Colorado’s marijuana tax demonstrated this, showing that, “In 2015, marijuana taxes brought in about $121 million in revenue to the state” (Ingraham). Increased tax revenues leads to increased state budgets which lead to improvements in the areas of education, health, infrastructure, and public welfare. It seems that keeping marijuana illegal is actually more expensive than legalizing it. Tax payers continue to pay for this war on drugs, even though it will never end. Banks continue to profit from laundered money, the DEA wastes time and money on marijuana, big pharmaceutical companies profit from addicts, and drug dealers thrive. As tax payers we even have to pay for people to stay in prison with non-violent marijuana offenses. A federal legalization would fix these issues and consecutively begin to eradicate the black